Let's Talk About Duterte
Mandatory disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are of my own and do not represent those of the companies I represent. Additionally, I am writing this in the perspective of an average Filipino, and not of a legal expert. This is just me being extremely happy about what happened lately.
Hustisya para kay Kian, Constantino, Toto, at sa iba pang napakaraming biktima ng illegal na war on drugs ni Duterte.
When I first heard the news, this scene from ATLA immediately came to mind:
It would be naive to trust that the justice system would see this through, knowing how evil people can get their hands up everyone’s ass in the government, but it would be a pleasant surprise if it amounts to anything. I hope it does.
With that said, it’s too early to celebrate: unless he’s being tried by the ICC for real and imprisoned, this victory is as meaningless as his honor.
Delayed, but not denied – for now
Justice really took its sweet time taking us to where we are now. The legal maxim justice delayed is justice denied, to some extent, holds true. However, this recent development should at least assure the victims of Duterte’s immoral war on drugs that there is at least some hope we can all cling on to.
Justice was able to stand and walk its first steps before witnessing the old man’s death. He lives to see the fruit of his wicked ways, and it is an even bigger injustice if he walks away unscathed after this whole ordeal.
Bravado won’t save you now
This should not be the end. Every person should be reminded of the fact that he did not do this alone. He may be calling the shots, but it was his enablers that allowed this to go on for as long as it has. I am no legal expert, so I will not be dropping names. They did make it easy for us, though: look at the current state of PDP-Laban and tell yourself who to watch.
Of course, this doesn’t stop at the level of power. It should also include the short-sighted Filipinos who enabled this menace: the troll farms, the death squads, the ride-or-die loyalists of a mad man. To some, it may not be too late for them to wake up and realize their mistakes. To many, me included, they knew what they were getting into when they enabled this monster, and they deserve no redemption. But for making the best of a bad situation, it would be the bare minimum for his supporters to stop and climb back to sanity for sanity’s sake. There may be relationships you can’t bring back, but at least you’re doing your part in restoring the path to sanity.
We need to stop enabling these people from holding power, now and for the sake of our future. We deserve better. We must stop allowing these people to make an international embarassment out of our country. We should steer away from being a kakistocracy.
Don’t be an enabler
Please, for the sake of our collective future, stop enabling monsters. We do not want to fall further than we already have. Our problems are the results of our decisions, so make better ones today.
And go fuck yourselves, Dutertes. I hope your victims and their families get the justice they deserve.